Binkley's claim of Dunleavy's 'growth' doesn't match reality

John Binkley, whose family owns the pro-Dunleavy Anchorage Daily News, says Gov. Mike Dunleavy is getting better all the time.

“Last year’s budget vetoes inflamed the recall effort, and now that the governor has reversed himself on many of those vetoes, Binkley said he believes Dunleavy ‘has made changes that really reflect what Alaskans have been feeling,’” Binkley told a reporter for his family’s newspaper.

“Gov. Dunleavy, I believe, has grown into his position,” Binkley told KTUU. “I believe it’s reflected in some of the changes that he’s made in his administration.”

Binkley, who talked this over with the governor, has created a group to fight the recall and support Dunleavy. Employees of the newspaper say there is a “firewall” that separates the editorial opinions of the owners from the news coverage.

The best way to prove that there is a firewall is for the Anchorage Daily News to do some aggressive reporting on exactly why Binkley volunteered to set up a group opposing the recall. And it should report on the contradiction between the claims by Ryan Binkley, the newspaper’s president, of being neutral on the recall, while the ADN editorials have been pro-Dunleavy from the start.

As far as Dunleavy growing on the job, the clearest sign of change is that he has grown to fear the recall.

The most important job of the governor is to propose a state budget and explain to legislators and Alaskans how the state is to pay for it. Dunleavy has proposed a budget that would spend the last of state reserves by the fall of 2021.

It is a reckless and irresponsible plan. Binkley mentions the reversal on vetoes as a sign of growth.

Dunleavy says those ideas remain on the table, only he is not supporting them right now. But he might, claims the man who is growing into his job. He is trying to avoid taking responsibility for anything on the budget or the major questions of the day. He is shrinking on the job.

Dunleavy is not supporting added extreme budget cuts now only because of the recall. Alaskans deserve a chance to vote on this matter, instead of allowing Republican pressure groups to make the call.